


Hope

by Fairi_Channie



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (Chan curses while thinking a lot), 3racha is still a thing, Aged-Down Character(s), Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - America, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Chan is 26, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Felix is literally 13, Foster Care, Gen, Loss of Parent(s), Mentions of Death, Mild Language, but its gonna take me a while, i have a lot planned for this universe, non-graphic description of death, so this is almost a sneak peak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 11:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18716098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fairi_Channie/pseuds/Fairi_Channie
Summary: Felix looked at the mug with a grim expression, too grim for any 13-year-old to have, a couple beats passed before he spoke;“Stay.”Chan didn’t say anything else, instead, he took the first sip of his hot chocolate and let the silence wash over them.—Chan is Felix’s first foster dad, and hopefully he’ll be his last.





	Hope

It was 4:16- no, 4:17 now- and Chan was picking up his phone to call Changbin because _‘Oh god this song is awful but it’s due in two days and I can’t think of how to fix it, oh god Changbin_ **_help me_ ** _’_ when his phone began to ring first. Except it wasn’t Changbin, or even Jisung in an amazing coincidence, instead his phone flashed the name Haley and he took a second because _‘Oh god, the social worker is calling me’_ before he answered.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Christopher Bang? We have some good news for you.”

“Oh, yes this is him, what is it?”

“We have a child here, Felix Lee, age 13, and we think you would be the best home for him.”

Chan’s eyes went wide, a kid is being placed with him? Not even a kid, a teenager. Could he even handle a teenager? “Christopher? Are you still there?”

Oh.

Right.

Phone call.

“I’ve told you that you can just call me Chris. But, um, yeah, I can take him! I can-” Chan rose from his seat and was ready to start prepping the second bedroom, ready to pull out sheets for the boy to choose from, ready to put any stray toys away due to the boy’s age and to make sure the television in the bedroom worked.

“Chris, there is one small complication that you need to know.”

He stopped in his tracks, “Oh, yeah, totally, what is it?”

“Although Felix is American born and speaks English, he has refused to speak anything other than Korean since his parents’ death a week ago. You’re the only one in the area who’s proficient enough in the language to take him.”

Oh.

 _Oh_.

Okay. He could deal with that. He grew up speaking Korean with his family and he lived in Korea for seven years during his childhood, he could take in a young teen who was only speaking Korean. Yeah, this is fine, he can do this.

“Okay, cool, I can take him. I mean, I am fluent in Korean after all.” Chan answered quickly, once he realized that he had left Haley without an answer for at least a half a minute. Thankfully, Haley didn’t comment on the silence or the panic seeping into Chan’s voice.

“Felix is able to be discharged from the hospital whenever you can take him in. It doesn’t have to be tonight, but it should be within 48 hours.” Chan looked at his outfit, stained sweats and a t-shirt he bought at age 16, thought about how he caught up he had gotten in his work and had forgotten to shower for at least two days (but his memory was fuzzy, it may have been longer). But he also didn’t want to make a lonely child wait in the hospital because he wanted to look nice.

“Can I have about an hour to get ready and then I can take him tonight?”

“Oh!” Haley sounded surprised that he didn’t want the night to prepare but agreed regardless, “Sure, I’ll give you an hour and then I’ll drive him to yours, I need to do a quick routine check of your home before I leave him with you.”

“Yeah! That works. See you in an hour.”

Once the phone call was over, Chan began to panic again. He called the number he meant to call at 4:17, and began to rummage in his closet for something to wear. After two rings, his call was answered with a gruff, “The fuck do you want, hyung?”

“ _Changbin_ ,” the older whined, not caring that he probably sounded like a petulant child to the younger man, “Changbin, a child got placed with me and I don’t know what to _do_.”

“A kid? Holy shit, hyung! You’re going to be a real foster parent now!” Chan groaned, pulling out a hoodie and jeans before throwing the hoodie back because that was _too casual_.

“I know! I’m so excited but _oh my god Changbin_ it’s a 13-year-old kid and he’s only speaking Korean and he gets here in an hour and Changbin _what do I wear_?”

“You’re going to be a father in an hour and you’re concerned over what to wear?”

“How do I impress a 13-year-old? A button up is too formal, but a hoodie is too casual and that’s, like, _all I own_. Help me out here,” Chan looked over at his alarm clock, it’d been 5 minutes and he still had to shower and do some quick picking up around the house. “Changbin,” He whined again, his voice growing panicked.

“Oh my god, hyung just wear that shirt Brian gave you, skinnies and those nice black boots you own. You’ll look cool and dark but not too dark, and not too formal but not too casual.”

“Binnie you’re a lifesaver, I love you, bye.”

“Bye hyu-” Chan hung up, he didn’t have any time to waste.

Chan showered quickly, changing into the outfit that Changbin recommended- it was a good outfit, he knew he could trust Changbin on this- before realizing that _holy shit he only has twenty minutes now._ He dried his hair quickly, deciding that straightening it would take too much time before he began to run through his house and pick up any trash. _Seriously, when was the last time he owned a bag of barbeque chips? Why was said chip bag shoved under his couch?_ Thankfully, the rest of the house was fairly clean, which left him with a remaining ten minutes to get the bedroom settled and then free time to _calm the hell down_ as he waited for Haley to arrive with Felix.

The free time to ‘ _calm the hell down_ ’ was about only about 5 minutes, but Chan hadn’t calmed during that time, his leg jittering and mind racing as the clock ticked. As he heard a car pull into his driveway, his back straightened and he waited for the duo outside to knock.

_Knock. Knock._

“Coming!” Chan stood, taking a deep breath in a feeble attempt to calm his nerves before he opened the door. All progress Chan had made in calming his nerves was lost as he looked at the small body next to Haley. The boy really was small in every sense of the word with thin limbs, a short stature, and tiny facial features. Felix being naturally small made the bright red cast on his left arm contrast jarringly and his swollen, stitched up lip look unexplainably unproportionate.

‘ _Oh my god, I want to hug him and never let go, he looks so_ **_small_ ** _and-_ ’ But his thoughts were cut off as he watched the younger step back at the sight of Chan, body curled as small as he could get while standing on the front porch. ‘ _Right, this is not a cute puppy you can hug and cuddle Chan, this is an injured boy who just lost his parents and is probably terrified._ ’

“Let’s go ahead inside. The quicker we get acquainted and do the house check, the quicker we can all eat dinner, relax and go to bed, yeah?”

Chan nodded, not quite trusting himself to speak as he let Haley lead the teen into his house. “Is there anything specific you need to look at?”

“Just a general look through of the house and I need to see exactly where Felix will be sleeping.”

Chan nodded, “I can show you the bedroom,” he turned to Felix, who was standing awkwardly in front of the door, “Felix, do you want to come to see your room with us or stay in here and watch tv?”

“Can I just watch tv please?” The boy spoke in quiet Korean, and Chan couldn’t help but note that his pronunciation was heavily accented and awkward, as if he didn’t speak the language often.

“Of course, do you want something to drink as well?” Chan grinned as Felix’s eyes widened slightly in shock- either he wasn’t told Chan spoke Korean or the teen hadn’t believed Haley.

“I’m okay, I just want to watch tv.”

Nodding, Chan picked up the remote, handing it over and watching as Felix sat on the couch, clicking on the television, “We’ll be right back.” Felix nodded mutely, not taking his eyes off the television as he searched for a channel.

When he turned to Haley the elder had a small smile that looked as if she knew a joke Chan didn’t, “Lead the way.”

Looking back at Felix (who had settled the tv on Cartoon Network), Chan shook his head as if to clear his thoughts physically, before turning down the hallway. “The two bedrooms are right here, he’ll stay in this one,” Chan opened the door as he spoke, “since the other room is decorated for younger kids and I figured he wouldn’t want it.” The room itself was fairly bland, to their right was a set of bunk beds with a closet further up the same wall, the left holding a dresser with a television settled on top of it, the far wall holding a curtained window in the center and a single desk to the left of the window.

“Um, I know it’s kind of barren right now, but I figured it’d be best to let him decorate. I was gonna let him pick out his own sheets and blankets since I have a couple of different ones in the closet.”

“Everything looks fine, Chris. It’s good to let him pick out his own decorations and such for the room, it'll help him feel at home. Especially since we aren’t quite sure how long he’ll be placed with you, he has no viable relatives and with his age, there’s very little chance of adoption.” Haley frowned slightly, but then as quickly has it appeared, the older was smiling again, “I’m sure you’ll be a natural at this Chris, just don’t try to force a connection at first and don’t give up on him.”

Haley rested her hand on Chan’s shoulder, realizing the other wasn’t going to reply she continued, “Let me do a quick walk through the rest of the house, we’ll have to go over some things and then I’ll get out of your hair.”

Chan nodded, his anxiety of finally being a foster parent rising at the thought of Haley leaving, “Yeah, okay. I’ll check on Felix while you do that.”

Back in the living room, Felix had moved to the edge of the couch, curled into a ball as he watched Cartoon Network (Chan didn’t recognize the cartoon, probably due to the fact that he only watches Adult Swim these days), the teen’s eyes were fixated on the screen and Chan couldn’t help but smile as the younger giggled at the show. As it went to commercials, Chan moved to sit on the opposite end of the couch, “So, Felix, what do you like to do?”

“Uh… I guess I like... music?” Felix’s voice was quiet, still prepubescent and squeaky.

Chan smiled brightly- he could talk about music for days, “Really? I work with music for a living! What kind of music do you like?” That seemed to catch Felix’s attention, the younger looking up at Chan for just a second before he moved his gaze back to his lap.

“I like a lot of stuff. The stuff on the radio, rap, uh, k-pop. I know k-pop is kind of girly but it’s fun.” Chan noticed how the boy grew nervous as he spoke about his music tastes- maybe some of his peers had criticized him for it? Chan wasn’t sure what it was, but it left a bad taste in his mouth before he felt a protective wave hit him as he watched the timid mannerisms of the younger.

“Mr. Uh, Mr. Chris?”

Chan blinked in surprise at the formality, “Felix you can just call me Chris- or Chan, that’s my Korean name.”

Felix nodded, “Mr.- I mean, Chan, can you tell me what you do with music?”

“I’m a producer. I’m technically hired under a Korean company but I do some freelance American songs as well. You may have heard of the company I work with if you know k-pop- JYP Entertainment?”

Felix let out a small gasp of shock, leaning towards the older and watching him with wide eyes full of what Chan could only describe as _childlike wonder_ , as he began to speak in an excited voice, “Like, like... with Twice _and_ Got7 _and_ Day6? That’s _so_ cool!”

Chan chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, I work with Twice a lot and I’ve met them a handful of times on my occasional trips to Korea, they’re very nice and very talented. I take that you’re a fan?” Chan swore Felix started to roll his eyes but stopped himself before he could.

“Of _course_ I’m a fan! I own, like, every single one of Twice’s albums!”

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I’ve finished looking over the house, I need Chris to sign something and we’ll be all set.” Haley turned to look directly at Felix, “Felix, are you okay with staying with Chris for a little while?”

Felix nodded but didn’t speak and Chan had to hold in a sigh as he noticed how the boy had retreated back into himself when just moments before he was leaning forward and speaking with energy. Haley handed Felix a small business card, talking a soft voice, “If you have _any_ problems you can call me, okay? If you and Chris don’t get along, if you don’t like the school, _anything-_ you can call me.” Chan looked away, feeling like he was intruding in something personal between the two, busying himself as he checked the notifications on his phone (he had two new song commissions and twenty-four texts in the 3Racha group chat asking about how ‘ _becoming a father_ ’ was going).

“Chris, we need to just go over a few things in the other room and we will be settled.” Chan nodded as he stood, glancing back at Felix with a bright smile, “We’ll be right back, keep watching your show, okay?”

Felix nodded mutely, returning a small smile (‘ _Holy fuck he’s so cute, I can’t handle it_ ’) before gluing his attention to aesthetically drawn bears on the television. Chan quickly decided to lead Haley to the dining room to speak, it was far enough that low speaking voices could not be heard from the living room, but the open layout of the house let Chan keep an eye on Felix. He wasn’t sure why he felt the need to watch Felix, but a protective urge in his chest was telling him he needed to keep a constant eye on the boy, to not let him out of his sight.

Haley cleared her throat, making Chan look over at her and the files she held. “Before anything is signed, you have the ability to go over Felix’s file.” Chan nodded, grabbing the file that was being offered to him.

Most of the information was things Chan had already learned- Felix’s full name, his age, that sort of basic information- but there were some interesting other facts he didn’t know. The fact that his mother was an Australian citizen who never got American citizenship, he learned that Felix’s only living relatives were his great-grandfather (who was around 90 years old and living in an Australian retirement home) and a great-uncle he never met who is currently in prison for some sort of robbery. Flipping to the only other page, Chan saw what seemed to be a police report of the accident that occurred, although many sections were blacked out (Chan assumes it was due to them not being relevant to Felix, as to hold the privacy of the others).

As he read, Chan felt himself still, holding his breath as in anticipation. The report seemed normal- officers had arrived at the scene of an accident involving a large truck T-Boning a much smaller car and in the small car there was a family of three. The father was the only one still conscious, the other two in the car were seemingly unconscious from the impact. Yet one part made him freeze, a sentence which read- _‘The man had looked at Officer Smith and slurred out that his wife was pregnant, despite his unreliable state the officers took this claim seriously and had ensured she was the first person that the paramedics saw.’_ That one sentence made Chan’s head flood with questions- how far along was she? did Felix know before or after? does he know at all?- but Haley interrupted the flow of his questions.

“Are you done with the file?”

“Um,” after scanning Felix’s medical history- fairly normal until the crash, which listed a concussion, fracture on his left wrist, the stitches put into the bottom of his lip as well as cuts and bruises littering the rest of his body. “Yeah, I’m done reading through it.” Chan handed the folder back to Haley and watched as the woman nodded, pulling out another paper.

“The last thing we need to do before I can leave is for you to sign this paper which will essentially make you Felix’s guardian.” Chan nodded, skimming the paper quickly and signing his name.

“Congratulations! You are officially the foster parent of Felix Lee! That means it’s my time to leave, but feel free to call me with any questions or concerns, okay?” Chan nodded mutely, standing with Haley and they made their way through the house back to the door. Felix gave a small wave as a ‘goodbye’ while Chan gave his own parting words and...

That was it.

Chan was on his own.

Well, not really, he _was_ with Felix.

_But did that really count?_

Probably not, since he was alone in parenting.

_What was he supposed to do next?_

Glancing over at where Felix was still sat watching the tv, Chan wasn’t quite sure what to do or where to start. So, he did what had worked earlier, he sat on the opposite end of the couch and began to talk gently.

“What show are you watching Felix?” Felix looked up, shrugging before responding in a soft voice, “It was ‘We Bare Bears’ which I really like, but now it’s ‘Clarence’ which is meh.” Chan nodded, “What’s ‘We Bare Bears’ about then?”

Felix tapped his knee, looking back down at the floor, “It’s about these three bears who are also brothers and they live together in San Francisco and go on all kinds of little adventures together.”

The night went like that for a while, Chan prodding Felix to talk about things he enjoyed and Chan doing his best to listen and take everything in _(Felix likes We Bare Bears, Gumball and Adventure Time. He doesn’t really like anything on Nickelodeon- other than The Loud House- but he likes most everything on Cartoon Network. Felix likes crime shows and will watch them but he prefers cartoons)._ Once it hit 7 o’clock Chan decided that he should probably feed Felix like a responsible guardian (since he _was_ one of those now).

“Felix, do you want to get some take out? We can call in an order and have delivery or we can go through a drive through.”

“Um, I’m fine for whatever you order.”

Chan shook his head, “Nah man, it’s your decision today, what do you want?”

Felix looked slightly panicked at the question, rubbing his hand across his cast and shifting his eyes before giving a quiet, “Pizza?”

Chan nodded, “Sure, there’s a local pizza place that delivers here, we can call in. What type of pizza do you want?”

“What do you normally get?” Chan felt like sighing (but didn’t, he knew he had to be _kind_ and _encouraging_ to gain Felix’s trust), it was nice of the teen to let him decide but he had already elaborated that it was Felix’s choice tonight.

“Um, I usually get something different every time, so we can get whatever you’re in the mood for.” _(That was a big fat lie, he usually orders a three-topping pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and bell peppers, the order had been the same since he was in college. But Felix didn’t need to know that)._

“Oh. Well… Can we get a supreme pizza then?” Chan nodded brightly, mainly glad that Felix had _finally_ decided on something to eat. “Sure thing bud, let me call it in real quick, okay?”

The night went smoothly from there, Chan introduced Felix to his favorite pizza delivery driver, and they settled on the couch as they ate in peace, the tv playing quietly in the background. Time passed quickly, small talk filling the pizza-scented air and after a bad dad joke from Chan, Felix’s quiet chuckles soon joined in. Felix opened up in small ways as the evening went on, and he spoke quietly about how he always wanted to be an artist but he had told his parents he would be okay studying STEM in college so he was probably going to go for Chemistry _‘because it looks the most fun’_.

Chan hummed quietly, thinking hard before he replied, “That’s still a long way off, but I think you should do what you want in life. You can do what makes you happy and still love your parents, you know?” Chan’s statement washed an awkward silence over them, as Felix’s eyebrows scrunched together ever so slightly and he seemed deep in thought before whispering an almost silent and slightly shaky, “Okay.”

After the episode that was playing went off (Felix had identified it as a show called _The Amazing World of Gumball_ ) and Adult Swim started to play, Chan decided that it was time to at least try to transition to bedtime- _could he call it that? Felix was a teen, what do teens call bedtime?_

“You don’t have to go to bed right now, but let’s go ahead and get your room set up, yeah?”

Felix nodded, moving towards his bags that sat next to the door, Felix grabbed one of the suitcases with the hand not in a cast before looking up at Chan silently. The man smiled, grabbing the other suitcase and nodding his head forward, “Follow me.”

“I know it’s a little bare in here, but we can go shopping for decorations soon and you can put up whatever you want. Bed-wise, I have some sheets and blankets you can choose from and you can decide if you want the top or bottom bunk. Does that all sound okay with you?” Chan had opened the door while speaking, and Felix let out a small noise of confirmation as they walked into the room. “The bed stuff is in the closet, right here.” Chan opened the closet door to point out the sheets, blankets, and pillows stacked neatly on the top shelf. “You can go ahead and set everything up however you want. Do you want to do it alone or do you want me to help?”

Felix watched the older hesitantly, “Um, I think I’d like to do it alone if that’s okay?”

“Of course, I’ll be in the living room if you need me, okay?” Felix gave a small nod, and Chan moved in a daze to the living room, the events if the day finally hitting him.

Picking up his phone, Chan decided to finally update his dumb best friends, who had run rampant in the group chat when he didn’t respond for hours.

**Groupchat: 3RACHA!!!**

**_[34 Unread Messages, Scroll Up To View]_ **

**_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _he still isn’t replying_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _maybe its like an ep of criminal minds_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _OMG!!!!_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _u think chan got MURKED?????_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _maybe_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _when was the last time he didnt reply for This Long_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _esp when were blowing up his phone_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _omgggg ur right!!!_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _he hasnt even told us to stfu !!!!!!_

**_[Channie Channie is typing…]_ **

**_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _HES NOT DEAD!!_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _ofc I’m not dead_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _I’m just busy with, ya know, becoming a parent or w/e_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _ahhhh yeah!_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _tell us bout the kid, chan_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _as much as u can tell us at least_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _yes! i want to know as much as i can about my new nephew/niece!!!!_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _okay, well_

**_[Channie Channie is typing…]_ **

**_Channie Channie:_ ** _his name is Felix, he’s 13 years old._

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _and he’s so small guys, like, are all 13 year olds tiny?_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _anyway,_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _he really likes music! he likes k-pop and is a huge Twice stan._

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _istg he had a fucking heart attack when I told him I worked for JYP_

**_[Binnie Binnie is typing…]_ **

**_[Sungie Sungie is typing…]_ **

**_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _at least u got a kid with good taste,_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _i want to meet him !_

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _when can we meet him??_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _u guys will prob be the first to meet him_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _but we have to let him settle first_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _he’s super quiet and seems vv anxious around just me so far_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _bitch i’m anxious too tf_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _yea, but u didn’t just have to move in with a strange man u’ve never meet_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _…yeah u rite_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _if he ends up having more than just situational anxiety, let him know he can talk to me_

 **_Binnie Binnie:_ ** _(u should prob wait until after i meet him tho lmao)_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _i will._

 **_Sungie Sungie:_ ** _i can speak to him too! u know all my issues, so if he has anything similar i can make time for him, i swear._

**_[Channie Channie is typing…]_ **

**_Channie Channie:_ ** _I just_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _I want u guys to know how thankful I am for u guys’ support_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _I know what i’m doing can seem reckless, since I’m single and only 26. trying to start a family on my own._

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _and I know this is going to be hard for me. I’m going to be dealing with kids that are damaged (but not broken, never broken) and I can’t even  know how much that’s gonna mess with me_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _and now u guys are offering to help Felix when u haven’t even met him_

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _I’m just so thankful for u guys._

 **_Channie Channie:_ ** _I love u two, I hope u know that_

**_[Binnie Binnie is typing…]_ **

**_[Sungie Sungie is typing…]_ **

“Chan?” It was Felix. Setting his phone down and looking over, Chan noticed the teen had changed into pajamas (and the pajamas were _super cute mind you,_ a matching set that was designed to look like an Iron Man suit). Felix fidgeted with the edge of his cast, not looking Chan in the eyes.

“What’s up Felix?”

“Um, I was just wondering…” He grew silent again, before letting out an even quieter, “Nevermind, it’s okay.”

“Hey, Felix, whatever it is you can tell me.” Chan made sure to make himself as non-threatening as possible-- _drop your shoulders, unclench your jaw, keep your stance open;_ he let that flow as a mantra in the back of his mind.

“It’s just,” Felix kept fidgeting and Chan wanted to grab his hands to keep them still but he knew he couldn’t, _not yet_ , “It’s stupid.”

“Hey, if you want something, it’s not stupid. You don’t have to ask if you don’t want to anymore, but just know I will never judge you.”

“I just- can you- uh.”

Felix seemed to be struggling to get the request out, but Chan kept silent, waiting for him to find the words on his own.

“My mom always makes me hot chocolate with cinnamon when I’m sad and I just... Can you make me some? I, uh, I can’t sleep.”

“Oh,” The expression left Chan’s lips in a fashion that was more of a soft exhale than a word, his heart swelling uncomfortably in sadness. “Of course Felix, I have some hot chocolate mix and cinnamon in the kitchen. Let’s go make it together, okay?”

Chan let himself focus on the hot chocolate, to distract him from the feelings that surfaced at Felix’s earlier confession. After quickly asking Felix which mug he wanted (the teen decided on a soft pink mug with a pun that Chan had got in university), Chan grabbed a plain white mug of his own and busied himself in making the hot chocolate. Starting a kettle for the water, pulling out the milk, grabbing the mix and cinnamon.

“Do you know how much cinnamon there should be Felix?” A nod. “Here, why don’t you put it in for me?” Another nod, the cinnamon was taken from him and Felix slowly and precisely counted out four shakes in each mug, counting under his breath.

“I don’t know how you like your hot chocolate, but I personally make mine with half water and half milk. I used to drink it with only milk growing up but my body stopped agreeing with plain dairy when I hit high school so I started doing it this way.” Chan was rambling, to fill the silence, to make Felix more comfortable, to distract himself. “But if you like it a certain way, I’ll make it that way.”

Felix shrugged. “No preference?” A nod. “Okay, I’ll do it my usual way and if you dislike that, tell me we’ll try something new next time, okay?” A nod.

Since Felix seemed to have gone silent, Chan filled the silence by humming, a soft song he had been working on with Jisung and Changbin. It wasn’t 3Racha’s usual style, it was slower and featuring his and Jisung’s vocals, it let Changbin play with a more vocal style of rap. A few beats passed of this before the kettle began to whistle, making Felix jump.

“Sorry,” Chan mumbled, grabbing the kettle to pour their drinks. The process of pouring and stirring felt automatic and after a minute he turned to hand Felix his mug. “Normally, I’d be against taking food and drink into the bedroom, but if you want to be alone you can go back to your room. But if you don’t to be alone that’s fine, we can stay just like this.”

Felix looked at the mug with a grim expression, too grim for any 13-year-old to have, a couple beats passed before he spoke;

“Stay.”

Chan didn’t say anything else, instead, he took the first sip of his hot chocolate and let the silence wash over them. At that moment, Chan felt everything was finally falling into place. There may have been a dreadful sadness that clouded the kitchen with them, but Chan couldn’t help to also feel hope for the small teen in front of him. Hope for recovery and love.

There, in his kitchen, he decided he would stay with Felix for as long as the other would let him. He would stay until Felix felt the same hope Chan held, he would stay until his cloud of dread and sadness left him.

Chan would stay.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I mentioned this in the tags, but this is a universe I have a LOT of plans for. This is more so an introduction to the universe than a complete look into the universe!! If I can manage to finish Felix's arc and bring the other kids I imagine Chan fostering, this will become a chaptered work. Based on how long this took me though, I will not be posting the chaptered extension for a couple of months.  
> \--  
> Follow me on social media!!  
> Twitter: @/fairi_channie  
> Tumblr: @/wannabe-punk-rocker


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